


Safe House

by ANGSWIN



Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, HP: Not Epilogue Compliant, Mutual Pining, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28569501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ANGSWIN/pseuds/ANGSWIN
Summary: Because she cares about him more than she will admit, Hermione offers up the secret of her personal safe house to Steve in case he ever needs it.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Steve Rogers
Comments: 12
Kudos: 89
Collections: Stockings of Joy Collection





	Safe House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [articcat621](https://archiveofourown.org/users/articcat621/gifts).



> Written for the Wizarding Crossover Connections  
> 2020 Stockings of Joy holiday gift exchange
> 
> Requested Pairing: Hermione Granger/Steve Rogers  
> Requested Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining

For an entire year, Hermione had been the magical advisor to the Avengers to help the team work past some of their areas of weakness that had been exposed during the Loki debacle. She had not only been their teacher, though, she had also become a good friend to them all - from the snarky Tony to the suspicious Nat and everyone else in between. Therefore, even when her year-long contract with Stark Industries had expired, Tony asked her to stay. 

However, Hermione reluctantly declined. She told him that she needed to get back to her life and friends in England. It was the truth, too. What she did not tell the man, though, was her secret knowledge that giving into temptation and staying would almost certainly lead to a broken heart in her future. 

Tony could not understand her reasoning, but...despite his disappointment...decided to throw her a swanky party to say good-bye, anyway. The fact that the shindig could also double as a holiday celebration only fueled his enthusiasm - which could easily be seen in its success. In fact, the party had gone on into the wee hours of the morning. Hermione and the Avengers laughed too loud, danced too hard, and drank too much...and made more than quite a few bad decisions in the process, as well. 

The last one included a unanimous decision to play Magic Mistletoe. It was a game (invented and trademarked by the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, of course) where an enchanted sprig of mistletoe randomly appeared between two people who were then stuck in place until they kissed each other to free themselves. During this adventure, Hermione locked lips with every Avenger at one time or the other...and a fun time was had by all...until she found herself under the magical plant with Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. 

Truth be told, however, it was the moment she had waited for all night. After all, the gorgeous man with the chivalrous old-fashioned manners had been her best friend in America practically from the moment she had stepped into the Tower. Not only that, but he had stolen her heart somewhere along the way, as well. Hermione knew that Steve had no idea how she felt about him, though, because she also knew that his heart still belonged to the other British brunette in his life – even if they could not be together for obvious reasons. In fact, Steve was the main reason that Hermione had decided not to stay on with the Avengers any longer and to return home instead. She knew that she had to try to move on before it was too late for her heart to recover...and she decided that she would not embarrass either of them with a confession of her unreciprocated affections. 

Nevertheless, Hermione had hoped for a sweet memory to take with her and to cherish...and a kiss under the mistletoe with the man would have been perfect. However, to her extreme disappointment, Steve just gave her a quick peck on the cheek instead of the admittedly toe-curling kiss that she had shared with Tony, the devil-may-care one from Clint, the sweet and shy smooch that Bruce had given her, or even the surprisingly fun (considering she did not swing that way) ones that Hermione had with Pepper and Nat. Consequently, the witch found herself massively disappointed. Then she became upset with herself because she had known what to expect, yet she had allowed herself to dream, anyway. Unable to enjoy herself any longer after that physical and emotional letdown, she soon slipped away from the party. 

Accordingly, she did not see the sadness in Steve’s eyes as he watched her leave...or as he silently berated himself for his stupidity and cowardice. 

~~~~~ 

The next day was her last one in New York and, despite the disappointment of the night before, Hermione knew exactly how she needed to spend it. Accordingly, early in the morning, while the others were still asleep or nursing their hangovers, Hermione headed to Steve’s apartment determined to do one more thing before she left. She knew the simple fact that the man of her dreams did not... _could_ _not_...feel the same way about her as she did for him was completely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, Steve’s life and well-being were much more important than the state of her lonely heart. 

After all, Hermione had spent an entire year with the man and, consequently, had deduced his greatest weakness. Despite his popularity...and even his friendships within the team...when it came down to it, Steve was alone in a time that was not his own. Because of that, the chink in his armor was that he had nobody that he could trust completely and without reservation. Therefore, since Hermione would no longer be there in person to have his back, she wanted to give him a safeguard in case he should ever be in need of refuge. 

In fact, she had thought about sharing her secret with him almost from the beginning. However, once he had told her the stories of his lifelong friend, Bucky, who had died during Steve’s original time in WWII, she had made the connection that Bucky had been _his_ Harry – the one person he could rely on unconditionally. Fortunately, her best friend was still around...and would still do anything for her...even if they were temporarily separated by an ocean at the current time. Steve no longer had that luxury, though, and so Hermione finally made her decision and had no second thoughts at all about the matter, whatsoever. 

~~~~~ 

“How would you like to get some _really_ good eggnog with me?” she therefore asked in a lighthearted tone that completely opposed the heavy weight present in her chest. This was especially true since she could not help but to wonder with quite a bit of sadness if she would ever see such an impressive sight again as the still bare-chested Steve who had opened the door without hesitation at her very distinctive knock. After all, they were both early risers and had often visited each other before the other Avengers even stumbled out of their beds. Unfortunately, though, that would be next to impossible to do all the way from England every morning. Hermione forced that negative thought away, however, in order to put on her happy face and speak in a light tone again. “I know about some that will put even Tony’s fancy gourmet stuff to shame!” 

“That good?” Steve asked in what he hoped was his normal tone as he, suddenly self-conscious under the woman’s eyes, pulled his shirt on over his head and down over his abs. He did not know exactly when he had stopped mourning for what could have been with Peggy...or when his feelings for Hermione had changed from just friendship into something so much _more._ However, he did know that the way he felt about her had evolved into something that made being half-naked in a room with her...and not being able to touch her...an almost painful experience. It also made him feel a heavy pit of dread in his stomach at the thought of losing her since he knew this was their last day together. 

In fact, Steve wanted to ask her to stay and to tell her how he felt, but he just did not know how to – especially after he had panicked underneath the mistletoe the night before. He had watched her kiss everyone else throughout the night with clenched fists, but when his chance finally came, he fought against the natural urge to push her against the nearest wall and kiss her hard enough to change her mind so she would decide to stay there in New York with them...with _him!_ Instead, for some unfathomable reason, he had given her the bare minimum of contact that would break the mistletoe enchantment. In fact, it could barely be considered to be a kiss at all and he was still kicking himself over that extremely bad decision. After all, that could have been his absolute last chance to show her how he felt. 

“Even better!” she confirmed, though, and Steve realized that she was still talking about the egg nog, as she pulled his attention back to the present. Then she smiled widely at his distracted nod of agreement as he pulled on his leather jacket. Hermione heaved an internal sigh at the thought of never seeing him in it again, either, but she continued on in her falsely cheerful tone anyway. 

“Good! You can leave your coat here, though, you know. You won’t need it where we are going.” 

Steve wondered at the slightly odd waver in her voice at such a simple statement, but he also had to admit that he trusted Hermione...probably even more than the rest of the team combined...even though he had known them longer. Plus...by now...after a year of training with her, he was used to magical travel. Therefore, without question, he shrugged off the garment and placed it on a chair, instead. 

Then he felt a secret thrill as she took his left hand with her right one before she twisted the only ring that she wore and murmured a few words that made them immediately whirl away from their location. 

~~~~~ 

The next thing that he knew, Steve was standing on a wide expanse of empty sandy beach. He guessed that they were somewhere in the Caribbean and he turned to look questioningly at Hermione. However, she was looking off towards the side. It was almost as if there was something there that he just could not see, but that she could. Steve knew that was certainly not impossible, though, when it came to magic. Oddly enough, however, she did not immediately tell him what she saw. Instead, Hermione conjured a piece of paper and wrote something on it before she handed it over to him. 

“Read this silently and commit it to memory,” she said in a voice that broached no argument. “It’s very important that you don’t say anything out loud until your view changes.” 

Despite his confusion at such an ambiguous command, Steve did what she asked. After all, she was a witch and knew all of the magical rules better than he did. Be that as it may, when he looked at the paper, he saw that there were only a set of coordinates and six words written there. 

_The Hideaway, Secret Cove, Northeast Aruba,_ he read to himself several times before he knew that his super soldier memory would easily be able to recall the information later. Then he looked back up at Hermione. However, this time when she smiled at him and gestured towards the location off to the side, he was also able to see the small sheltered cove that they stood in and the little bungalow located just a few yards away. 

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “Magic?” 

“Of course,” she nodded. “Welcome to my safe house, Steve. Since there are no roads, and the cove is full of dangerous rocks, it’s difficult for anyone...even Magicals...to access. Therefore, I keep a portkey on me so that I can come straight in,” she explained as she pointed to her ring. “I can count on one hand...and still have fingers left over...the only people that know of the existence of this place – and that now includes you. It’s secret-kept, which means that nobody, Magical or Muggle, can find it…or even see it…unless I want them to...or unless I give them the specific coordinates to the place so that something like a quinjet could land here or so someone could parachute down to this specific location...” Her voice trailed off and she paused to look at him meaningfully before she continued in a more normal tone. “Hurricanes are common here, so it’s also warded against every possible natural disaster that I could think of...and in case of emergencies...it is also fully stocked with everything one needs to live comfortably for a while.” She paused to smile up at the man. 

“And...yes...that includes some Caribbean Eggnog that I made and put under a stasis charm when I was here briefly last year to take a break before I went to New York in order to whip the Avengers into magical shape.” Her smile widened. “Let’s see if we can find it. I used fresh coconut milk and local rum, so I know that you will love it!” 

With that honestly cheerful proclamation, she took his hand and led the bemused man into the deceptively small and unassuming beach cottage. However, Steve knew Hermione well enough that he was not _really_ surprised when he found that in addition to the wide veranda that he could see from the outside, the inside of the residence also consisted of a much larger than expected luxury living space. There were also several private bedrooms and even a couple of obviously-installed-by-magic bathrooms since such an isolated residence would not have had access to amenities like running water, otherwise. 

All in all, it was quite a pleasant place to be, and it instantly made a person think of vacations...and maybe even honeymoons...until one realized the reason why such a thing was needed in the first place. Accordingly, even though he had not expected such a nice place in such a gorgeous location, Steve found that he was not at all surprised that Hermione had a safe house at all. After all, he knew about the dangerous high-profile life that she had led in Britain and also that she had been hunted on several occasions by Dark wizards – even after the Wizarding Wars in her country were over. Nevertheless, he was simply overwhelmed that Hermione had trusted _him_ with her biggest secret...and he had to know the reason. 

“Why?” he asked roughly, as his carefully controlled emotions threatened to break free. 

“Why the eggnog?” Hermione replied lightly, before she gave him a small and slightly sad smile, “or why give you the metaphorical key to my bolthole?” 

“Both, actually…but mainly the bolthole thing,” he answered in return as he gestured at the small piece of paradise around them. 

“It’s because I worry about you, Steve,” she explained truthfully and he looked at her with surprise again. “You may be a super soldier, but you are also a good man with strong morals and those two things don’t always mesh well when it comes to the plans of others. Trust me, I know. My best friend was caught up in the machinations of those who should have known better for years....and I missed out on my childhood trying to help him! Not only that, but you’re also a man out of your time, both physically and emotionally. You’re lost in your own future with no roots to tether you to the past. Therefore, there may be a time when you don’t know who to trust or where to go. I simply wanted to give you an option – just in case you ever need it – even if I’m not around.” 

After those heartfelt words, she patted his hand affectionately and left him to think about what she said while she went to searched the pantry for her prize. Her strategic withdrawal also gave her a chance to blink away the tears that had automatically sprung to her eyes at the last sentence when she had mentioned leaving him. 

~~~~~ 

Hermione and Steve enjoyed their tropical...yet still seasonal...drink on a couple of chairs down on the beach. Steve could not help to but to notice again just how much nicer the place was then any of the SHIELD safe houses he had seen...and how much more romantic the setting was, too. Of course, he realized that _particular_ quality must have been because of his companion. After all, she looked extremely lovely with her lively hair blowing in the Caribbean breeze as she looked out over the ocean and continued to explain the situation between sips of admittedly delicious egg nog. He thought about telling her how he felt, then, but just as gathered his courage to speak, she unintentionally interrupted him. 

“I’ve already added you to the wards,” she told him as they lounged there. “Consequently, they will recognize you if you ever need to return without me. You will be able to go right in without problems. However, if you are not alone, then you will have to introduce your companion, or however many people you have with you, to the safe house in the _exact_ same way that I did for you...or the safety precautions will kick in automatically... and I don’t want anyone who doesn’t deserve it to get hurt.” Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione anticipated his comment and shook her head. 

“I trust you, Steve,” she said, “and I know that only the biggest emergency would ever convince you to go through the trouble to come all the way here just to lay low in the first place…and I also know that you will also try to save anyone you can in such a situation. That’s just the way you are. Therefore, I know without a doubt that if you brought someone here, it would be for all the right reasons…and not just for a private shag or something.” Steve actually blushed at that thought and Hermione realized for the millionth time how adorable his old-fashioned morals and values were. However, she did not want to embarrass him further...or to think about him with anyone else in that way, either...so she just continued. 

“Tony…yes…I could definitely see him doing that, but _never_ you. Therefore, just use your best judgement and follow the rules. Then this place will be a safe haven for you, as well - whenever you need it.” 

After such a solemn conversation, Steve realized that it just was not the time to tell her the truth. Maybe it was never meant to be the right time, either, because soon after that deep conversation, they finished their drinks. Then, after Hermione conducted a final magical sweep to make sure that everything was in place until the next time that the pleasant refuge was needed, they departed together in the same way that they had arrived. 

~~~~~ 

They made it back to the Tower just in time for the civilized farewell luncheon that Pepper had organized for her as the perfect counterbalance to Tony’s hedonistic party from the night before. Steve might have given in and told her then, but he never had the chance. They never had any additional time to be alone together without the others present. However, as she gave everyone a final goodbye hug before her official international portkey activated and whisked her back to England, she leaned up to whisper in his ear when it was his turn. 

“Remember!” was all she said. However, that one word...and the soft warm kiss that she pressed into his cheek...stayed in his mind...and in his heart...long after she left. 

Nevertheless, he knew that he had missed his chance with the lovely witch...and the thought left him feeling cold despite the camaraderie of the others who also cared about her. 

~~~~~ 

Steve thought about Hermione...and her words from their time on the beach often...especially after the fall of SHIELD. When he was on the run with Nat and Sam, he seriously considered taking them to the little cottage on the beach - especially since they had proved to be trustworthy and he knew they would keep the secret. However, then the Winter Soldier... _Bucky_...complication happened. He knew that he could not leave his old friend without at least trying to figure out what happened to him and to bring back the man he had once known so well... if that was at all possible. Therefore, he stayed. 

The next time that he seriously thought about utilizing the refuge was after the disastrous confrontation with Ultron and the Maximoff twins. He considered taking the team there so that they could regroup and recover from the mind control magic that had been used on them. However, Clint had apparently made the same decision and had surprised them all when he took them to the farm...his family’s safe house...instead. 

Therefore, Hermione’s invitation remained unused...until the Sokovia Accords happened. Then, her words had never rang more true than when the team turned against each other. After the destructive battle at the airport, and the subsequent imprisonment of half of them in the Raft, SHIELD’s underwater prison, Steve knew that it was finally time to use Hermione’s generous gift. Consequently, after the necessary jailbreak....and the strategic acquisition of a quinjet....Steve’s memory provided the coordinates and the fugitives headed to Aruba. 

~~~~~ 

Hermione was in a meeting for all of the Department Heads at the British Ministry of Magic when her portkey ring began to tingle. She had previously connected her safe house protections to the object so that she would have some forewarning if the wards were breached – whether she was in attendance or not. By the pleasant tingle, however, she knew that the wards had welcomed whomever had entered the secret-kept space and that entry had not been forced in any way whatsoever. 

Since Harry, one of the only two people who had been granted unrestricted access to her sanctuary, was also sitting next to her, Hermione knew that it could only mean one thing. Consequently, since she had not seen Steve since that farewell luncheon, and had purposely avoided all contact with him, and all painful mentions of him in the Muggle media in the meantime, warring emotions of both anticipation and concern shot through her. After all, she had not forgotten the Captain. How could she? Of course, nobody else had ever been able to measure up to the memory of him since they had parted, either.

“I’ve got to go,” she whispered urgently as she turned to Harry and gestured at the portkey on her hand. Harry looked confused for just a moment until he realized what she meant. After all, she had told him about sharing the secret with Steve...and he had agreed with her legitimate reasons for doing so...even though he was not so sure about the private ones that he could only suspect – especially since she refused to talk about the man after that. 

“Oh!” he replied just as quietly as to not disturb the ones around them. “Do you want me to go with you?” 

Hermione was grateful for her friend’s thoughtfulness, but she shook her head in denial. “No. There is no indication that there is any immediate danger, but I will send my patronus back if I need you.” 

“Send it anyway!” Harry insisted. “Let me know that everything is okay or I will head there, not matter what.” 

Hermione nodded in agreement and relief that he understood...and secure in the knowledge that he would be there whenever she needed him. She squeezed his hand in gratitude and then slipped out of the meeting, confident that he would cover for her there, also. Then she rushed back to her own office for privacy before she activated the portkey to take her to the safe house in Aruba...and to Steve.

~~~~~ 

As soon as she appeared on the beach, she could not help but to smile when her magic recognized the quinjet parked there, despite the fact that it was cloaked. She cast an additional disillusion spell over it, anyway...just in case...in order to ensure that it could not be seen by the Muggle surveillance satellites. Then she made her way to the cottage where she could hear voices. She recognized Steve’s immediately, and despite all of the time that had passed, her heart beat madly at the sound of it. Then she heard Nat’s voice, as well, and she smiled warmly at the knowledge that the woman was there, too. She had truly missed the no-nonsense company of the former assassin, but her purposeful avoidance of Steve also meant that she had little to no contact with the fiery redhead or any of the other Avengers since her work with them had ended. 

She also heard at least one other male voice and a female one that she did not recognize, either. Therefore, just to be sure, she cast a _Homenum_ _Revelio_ _._ Once it was confirmed that only four people were in the cottage, she gathered her Gryffindor courage and went in to find out exactly what drastic event had led to Steve being there with only one member of the team to watch his back and the two others who were complete strangers to her. 

As soon as Hermione had pushed the door open, wand in hand, though, she found a gun pointed directly at her face.

 _Expelliarmus!"_ she exclaimed forcefully. As she watched, however, the hand that held the weapon twisted and tightened in such a way that prevented the holder from being disarmed. Nevertheless, Hermione was far from being alarmed. In fact, she grinned proudly, instead. 

“Someone’s been taught well!” she proclaimed and lowered her wand. 

“Hermione!” Nat exclaimed in recognition and came to give her old friend and teacher a hug – and the uncharacteristic show of affection obviously surprised the dark-skinned man and the other younger woman who were present. However, the fair-headed man on the far side of the room looked on at the scene with mixed emotions. 

~~~~~ 

Steve had not seen Hermione since she had left New York. Nevertheless, even with everything that had happened to him since, she had never left his mind...or his heart. In fact, he had ended things with Sharon... before they could even begin...because he knew it would not be fair to her. He could not love her since he already loved Hermione. Sharon, of course, assumed it was because of her Aunt Peggy...and, for once, the normally honest-to-a-fault Steve did not correct her. After all, Hermione was not even in his life anymore...and he just did not know how to explain _that!_

However, when he finally saw her standing there in person in the Aruban safe house that she had provided for them...for _him,_ it suddenly felt as if they had never parted, as if that morning on the beach had happened just the day before instead of a couple of years earlier. 

“Hermione...” the name had passed his lips before he could help it and the woman looked up and froze as she locked glances with the man who stood there. 

Sam looked between his friend and the lively-haired brunette whom he had never met before. Sure, he had heard her name mentioned by some of the others before...but never by Steve. He had not thought much of it at the time, but he suddenly understood _why_ as he saw the look of longing on the Captain’s face – especially when he saw the same emotion mirrored on hers, as well. 

For her part, Nat had always suspected that there had been feelings between her two friends - even when they were obviously being complete idiots about the whole thing. She had even continued to try and get Cap to confess to them after Hermione had left. In fact, she needled him mercilessly about his love life when she tried to get him to agree to a “date” with any of the many interested women she knew....and then again later on after they had shared that kiss in order to remain incognito on the escalator. The fact that she could not detect any interest in him for any of the women they discussed... including herself...and the proof that he had very little practice in the kissing department...told her everything she needed to know about why he chose to be alone when he obviously did not have to be. 

She would have acted on that sudden knowledge, too, and had even made plans to hunt down Hermione herself on her next bit of leave - even if she had to infiltrate Magical London to do it. However, the shit had hit the fan with regularity since her realization and, unfortunately, her friend’s love life had to come in second behind his actual life...and the rest of their lives, as well. 

Nevertheless, she knew something was strange when Steve provided her with the coordinates of a safe house that she could not see - even after they landed – not until after all that mumbo jumbo with memorizing the address on the paper. Then, when it became clear that the cottage was actually much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, she finally realized that Hermione must have set the place up herself. However, she had not anticipated that the owner would actually show up almost immediately after their own arrival. She did see the obvious benefit of the witch’s arrival, though, so she immediately turned to Sam and Wanda. 

“Before we settle in...let’s check the security of the premises,” she suggested. She did not even wait for an answer, however, before she took each of their arms and led them out of the house and down to the beach. 

“I don’t understand,” Wanda ventured. “Wasn’t that _the_ Hermione? The witch that trained all of you? When Steve said the place was protected, he obviously meant it had magical security. In fact, I can _feel_ the wards, even though I can’t _see_ them....so why are we out here? I have so many questions that I want to ask her.” 

Sam grinned. “What she _really_ meant was that those two needed some time alone.” 

“Oh,” Wanda breathed with sudden understanding as she also realized that the two people in question had not even acknowledged their exit since they were so intent on each other. “Are they together?” 

“Not yet,” Nat admitted. “But they will be soon,” she added firmly, “even I have two give them both a cognitive reset to get them to realize it.” 

~~~~~ 

“Hermione,” Steve said again as he continued to look at the woman across the room in a kind of disbelief that she was actually there. His voice sounded strange to his own ears. 

“Steve,” she replied shakily since all of her suppressed feelings had suddenly escaped her carefully crafted control at the sight of the man in front of her. 

“I didn’t think I would see you again,” he added softly. 

“I had not planned to come...but when I felt the wards change, I knew you were here,” she answered hesitantly. “I was... _worried_...about you. I had to see if you needed help...if you needed _me.”_ She added urgently as she took a tentative step forward. 

“I’ve always needed you,” Steve heard himself admit. He found that he did not regret the emotional slip, either – especially when it acted as the catalyst that finally caused the invisible barrier between them to crumble. At that moment, the witch rushed forward and the super soldier easily scooped her up in his strong arms to kiss her. 

That was how the others found them when they returned a short while later from their “perimeter check.” Nat wore a pleased knowing look when Hermione broke free from Steve’s embrace long enough to be introduced to the grinning Falcon and the young Scarlet Witch, who was excited to meet the infamous witch and war heroine and just could not hold back her questions. Hermione answered the basic ones immediately , but deferred the others ones until a later time when they all had less on their minds. Instead, after she had sent Harry an "all clear" patronus, they all partook of her Steve-endorsed Caribbean egg nog and she insisted on being caught up to speed with everything that had happened since they had last met. She especially wanted to know more about the issues that had come between the Avengers and made the current group flee to the Aruban safe house in the first place. 

After hearing the horrifying and sad series of events from Steve and Nat, with some input from Sam and Wanda, Hermione blamed herself at first. After all, if she had not shut herself off so completely from her friends in the Muggle world to protect her heart, unnecessarily as it now seemed, she would have known about their troubles and she might have been able to help solve them. Wanda's brother might not have died, Bruce might not have gone missing, Rhodey might not have been injured, Clint might have avoided house arrest, and she might have even been able to help Bucky break through his brainwashing sooner. At the very least, she probably could have magically knocked some sense into both Steve and Tony as she so often had to do whenever Harry and Ron were at odds with each other over something stupid and she was stuck in the middle. 

Both Steve and Nat assured her that she was not at fault, however, that it had become obvious that they really had always been “a ticking time bomb” as Bruce had predicted from the beginning. The team’s friendship had just been stronger than their differences for a while, but the strain became too much. Something eventually had to give. 

Nevertheless, Hermione was extremely proud of her man for standing his ground and refusing to sign the Accords. After all, nothing good could come from the registration of a group of people who were different in some ways from the ones doing the tallying. History had proven that time and time again...and she had even learned that from firsthand experience in her own war. It had been proven to be true in this situation, as well, when Steve and the others were labeled as criminals for their refusal and when their once best friends had been ordered to act against them. Consequently, Hermione’s heart ached for everyone involved and she wondered what she could possibly do _now_ to mend the rift. 

She would work on a plan. However, the very first thing she could do was to ensure that the group with her remained safe. Therefore, she made sure that they knew her sanctuary was available to them for as long as they might need it. When Steve embraced Hermione again in gratitude, she knew then...without a doubt...that her Aruban cottage might have been cozy and comfortable. However, her _real_ safe house was right there in Steve’s arms – no matter how long it had taken them to realize it – or whatever might come their way in the future. 


End file.
